The use of cellular telephones has of course dramatically increased over the past ten years, so much so that a large majority of the population truly feel that they cannot be without, or out of touch with, their cellular phones for any extended period of time. They are constantly checking their cellular phones for incoming emails, texts, and the like. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that people often take their cellular phones with them into restaurants, movie theaters, and other public places, despite the fact that these various establishments usually require people to at least silence their cellular phones, if not completely turn them off. One place where such restrictions obviously do not apply is, for example, inside an automotive vehicle where the driver is of course in sole control of his/her cellular phone. On the other hand, prudence, as well as laws in various states of the United States, as well as in other countries, mandates that there be no hand-held cellular phone usage for either speaking or texting, in light of the fact that such usage constitutes a serious safety hazard, both to the driver and any passengers in his/her automotive vehicle, to other drivers and their passengers, and pedestrians. Accordingly, an entire industry has therefore developed in connection with providing cellular phone users with various devices for “holding” their cellular phones while driving so as to in fact permit, at least, hands-free talking. However, these various devices have had their operational or functional problems, rendering them less than desirable. For example, one problem that needed to be addressed was where to locate the device such that it could provide the desirable access to the driver while, on the other hand, not presenting a visual problem for the driver. Sometimes, people simply place their cellular phones within the cup holders provided within the automotive vehicles, however this has proven to be unsatisfactory in view of the fact that the cellular phone can move around within the cup holder and is therefore always not readily viewable by the driver. In addition, if the driver wants to operate the cellular phone on the electrical power provided by the automotive vehicle, in lieu of operating the cellular phone by means of its battery power, or if the driver wants to charge the cellular phone by means of the electrical power provided by the automotive vehicle, the cable, extending from the automotive cigarette lighter or USB port to the cellular phone, can become entangled or frayed over a period of time due to the necessary bending of the cable when it is attached to the cellular phone disposed within the cup holder.
Various cellular phone holders have therefore been designed to be mounted upon the horizontally oriented shelf overhanging the dashboard, or actually attached to a lower region of the front windshield, however, these devices obviously present a visual problem for the driver in that the cellular phone holder and the cellular phone potentially block a critical portion of the front windshield when the driver is looking in a particular direction or at a particular location. This problem could also become exacerbated when driving at night. Another type of cellular phone holder has been developed which is adapted to be mounted upon the air vent structures located upon the dashboard, however, again, this presents a problem in that the cellular phone holder and cellular phone interfere with the heat or cooled air flowing into the automotive passenger cabin. This potentially leads to the cabin becoming uncomfortable, at which point the driver may remove the cellular phone holder and cellular phone from its location upon the dashboard whereby the conundrum as to where to locate the cellular phone again arises. Still further, when the cellular phone and cellular phone holder are mounted upon the air vent structures within the dashboard, if you are utilizing a cable to operate or charge the cellular phone from the automotive cigarette lighter or USB port, the cable is often in front of the audio equipment so if you want to make any adjustments to the audio components, such as for example, changing the channel, changing the volume, or to change between different play modes, such as CD, conventional radio, or satellite radio, the cable comprises a nuisance interfering with your audio selections.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which will effectively overcome the aforenoted deficiencies noted in connection with conventional cellular phone-holders. Another need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which will provide easy and ready access to the cellular phone while permitting the automotive vehicle driver to operate and communicate by means of the cellular phone without the cellular phone comprising a hazard with respect to the safe operation of the automotive vehicle. Still another need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder wherein the holder and cellular phone will not present any visual problems or difficulties for the automotive vehicle driver. Yet another need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder wherein the cellular phone is positionally secured within the cellular phone holder such that the cellular phone is not permitted to freely move once adjusted to a particular orientation relative to the automotive vehicle driver so as to avoid the need for the automotive vehicle driver to re-position the cellular phone to an accessible disposition. Still yet another need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which accommodates the usage of a charging cable, connected to the automotive cigarette lighter or USB port, to be employed in connection with the cellular phone such that the cellular phone can operate upon the automotive vehicle power or be charged by means of the automotive vehicle power whether or not the cellular phone is actually being utilized. Yet still another need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which accommodates the usage of a charging cable to be employed in connection with the cellular phone wherein the charging cable will not become entangled with or obstruct other appointments present upon the automotive dashboard. A further need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which accommodates the usage of a charging cable to be employed in connection with the cellular phone wherein the cable is not forced to be bent at undesirable angles which can lead to the fraying of the cable. A yet further need exists in the art for a new and improved cellular phone holder which accommodates the usage of a charging cable to be employed in connection with the cellular phone wherein the charging cable will not interfere with the flow of heated and conditioned air into the automotive vehicle cabin.